This upcoming Sunday, the people of Venezuela will hold an election that, if legitimate, would put an end to years of the oppressive Maduro narco-regime. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued a statement in support of the Venezuelan people: “The...
NOTICIAS
Últimas Noticias
Rubio: “La Tenacidad y Valentía del Pueblo venezolano Estarán a la Vista”
Este próximo domingo, el pueblo venezolano tendrá una elección que, de ser legítima, pondría fin a años de opresión por parte del narco-régimen de Maduro. El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) grabó un mensaje de video en español y emitió una declaración en...
Rubio, Scott, Colleagues to Biden Admin: No Privileges Should Be Given to 9/11 Terrorist
Twenty-three years ago, the United States was attacked by Islamic terrorists on September 11, 2001. Now, Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in a U.S. court for his role in the attack, has requested the U.S. Department of Justice to allow a prisoner transfer...
Next Week: Rubio Staff Hosts Mobile Office Hours
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of Senator Rubio’s...
Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Ensuring Continuity in Veterans’ Health Act
As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opens up new facilities, many veterans are losing access to the VA’s Community Care Program and, consequently, their long-term healthcare providers. Veterans throughout the country have reported a loss of care, including...
Rubio Introduces Bill to Strengthen U.S.-India Security Partnership
The U.S.-India partnership is vital to countering influences from Communist China. In order to strengthen this partnership, it is essential to enhance our strategic diplomatic, economic, and military relationship with New Delhi. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)...
Rubio Urges Obama Administration to Actively Defend Universal Human Right of Religious Freedom Around the World
Miami, FL – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women’s Issues, issued the following statement regarding today’s release of the State Department’s Annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2015:
“Once again this report serves as a reminder that we as Americans are blessed to live in a country founded on the idea that everyone should be able to worship and live out their faith according to their consciences, without fear of persecution, violence or imprisonment. Religious freedom is enshrined in our Constitution, and it bestows on us the great responsibility of helping to ensure others around the world can also freely exercise their religious beliefs.
“Right now, in virtually every corner of the globe, people are being attacked because of their faith. In the Middle East, radical Islamic terrorists are committing genocide against religious minorities, including Yezidis and Christians. In Iran, Bahá’ís are systematically persecuted along with other minority faiths, and the government continues to advocate for the extermination of Israel and all Jews. In Africa, Boko Haram continues to kidnap and ruthlessly murder innocent people. In Europe and elsewhere, houses of worship have been turned into scenes of brutality and violence. In China, house church Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners are detained, imprisoned, or worse, while in Burma, Rohingya Muslims face torture and unlawful detention. In Cuba, harassment of the Ladies in White on their way to Mass and the demolition of churches are on the rise.
“Even here in America, the Obama Administration has encroached on our liberty and sought to force Christians, Muslims and others to violate their consciences under penalty of law. Thankfully, some of these attempts have been rebuked by our courts.
“The United States must forcefully oppose any attack on religious freedom abroad. Sadly, for much of the last eight years the Administration has not been willing to make this issue a priority, or address it with the urgency it deserves. Even following the recent genocide determination with respect to ISIL, there has been too little action and we still lack a real strategy to defeat this group. Additionally, the State Department has consistently underutilized tools like the designation of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for egregious violators of religious freedom. As I said last year, countries such as Pakistan, Syria and Vietnam should be considered for a CPC designation, as the independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has repeatedly recommended. It’s shameful that another year has gone by without this action. Countries already designated as CPCs should face real consequences, including the loss of the many waivers they keep receiving as if handing them out occurs on auto-pilot.
“However, the CPC designation alone is insufficient given that today, as the State Department report makes clear, some of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom are in fact non-state actors. That’s why I introduced legislation to modernize the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, so this universal right is afforded the prominence it deserves in U.S. foreign policy, and the State Department has the tools the current global landscape requires.
“I continue to believe that religious freedom must be a key pillar of America’s foreign policy, but this Administration chooses to keep letting repeat violators off the hook. Reports like this one contain useful information, but if it does not lead to real action in defense of those being oppressed, America will have missed an opportunity to take a firm stand in support of the universal human right of religious freedom, and hold accountable those who refuse to respect it.”